“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old
town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets
turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the
courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was
hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day;
bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the
sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’s
stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed
before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by
nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat
and sweet talcum.
People moved slowly then. They ambled across the
square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took
their time about everything. A day was twenty-four
hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for
there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money
to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of
Maycomb County. But it was a time of vague optimism
for some of the people: Maycomb County had recently
been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself (Lee
5-6).”
Found Poem
TKAM Setting - Chapter 1
Setting: in addition to providing information about time and place, physical descriptions of a place can create a feeling in the reader by setting a
mood or atmosphere for the story.
How would you describe the feeling or mood set by Harper Lee in the beginning of the novel? Choose one word:
______________________________
Found Poem Instructions for TKAM
1. Read carefully the passage below.
 Underline or highlight 20–40 words that stand out, that sum up the mood or feeling of the town. Include details, words and phrases
that you find particularly powerful, moving, or interesting.
 Cut out the underlined/highlighted words. Discard the other parts of the passage.
2.
Take those words or phrases and create a “found” poem that keeps the mood and general essence of the novel pure. Free verse or rhyme,
any style you would like. You do not have to use every word you underlined/highlighted, but must have a minimum of 20 words in your
poem!
3. Make any minor changes necessary to create your poem. You can change punctuation and make little changes to the words to make them fit
together (such as change the tenses, possessives, plurals, and capitalizations). Space or arrange the words so that they’re poem-like.
4. When you’re close to an edited down version, if you absolutely need to add a word or two to make the poem flow more smoothly, to make
sense, to make a point, you may add up to two words of your own. That’s two (2) and only two!
5. Read back over your edited draft one more time and make any deletions or minor changes.
6. Check the words and choose a title—is there a better title than “Found Poem”?
Passage Works Cited:
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1960.
Found Poem
TKAM Setting - Chapter 1
Setting: in addition to providing information about time and place, physical descriptions of a place can create a feeling in the reader by setting a
mood or atmosphere for the story.
How would you describe the feeling or mood set by Harper Lee in the beginning of the novel? Choose one word:
______________________________
Found Poem Instructions for TKAM
3. Read carefully the passage below.
 Underline or highlight 20–40 words that stand out, that sum up the mood or feeling of the town. Include details, words and phrases
that you find particularly powerful, moving, or interesting.
 Cut out the underlined/highlighted words. Discard the other parts of the passage.
4.
Take those words or phrases and create a “found” poem that keeps the mood and general essence of the novel pure. Free verse or rhyme,
any style you would like. You do not have to use every word you underlined/highlighted, but must have a minimum of 20 words in your
poem!
3. Make any minor changes necessary to create your poem. You can change punctuation and make little changes to the words to make them fit
together (such as change the tenses, possessives, plurals, and capitalizations). Space or arrange the words so that they’re poem-like.
4. When you’re close to an edited down version, if you absolutely need to add a word or two to make the poem flow more smoothly, to make
sense, to make a point, you may add up to two words of your own. That’s two (2) and only two!
5. Read back over your edited draft one more time and make any deletions or minor changes.
6. Check the words and choose a title—is there a better title than “Found Poem”?
Passage Works Cited:
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1960.